Committee advances sex offender delisting bill

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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Senate lawmakers are trying to give young men convicted under an older definition of statutory rape an opportunity to clear their name from the sex offender registry.

The Judiciary and Rules Committee advanced a bill Wednesday that applies to young men who were convicted of statutory rape before 2010.

In 2010, the Legislature cleared statutory rape charges in cases of consensual sex when a man is within three years in age of his 16 or 17-year-old partner. Previously no girl under 18 could legally give consent.

Sen. Les Bock of Garden City says many offenders convicted under the old law might not be found guilty under the new definition.

His bill would give those offenders a chance to petition a judge to lift their sex offender label.